His Queen of the Lab, A Live-Wired Treasure
by AlwaysRed Aryssa
Summary: (( Human AU; Disclaimer- I don't own Hetalia, characters are given ORIGINAL names. )) Ji-hu(South Korea) meets a wonderful girl named Ameline(Fem!America) through his supposed "mother"(Teenage Wy; Nation). With Ameline's energy and party attitude, Ji-hu is sure to be in for a wild ride. Has the King of the Lab found his queen?
1. Chapter 1- She Had That One Thing

Ji-hu's 'mom' wasn't one to have gatherings. Nor was she one to be a big fan of people, so Ji-hu had noticed. With the exception of him, and wasn't entirely sure why. Adeline Scarlet Kirkland wasn't really his mother, more someone who claimed him as her child. Which made no sense, seeing as he was technically older than her in his eyes, taller- all together it didn't make sense. But he didn't dare argue with her, Adeline was pointless to argue with. She'd called him up somewhat excited, saying something about meeting a few people and getting along with them pretty well, and how she wanted him to stop by for dinner sometime soon. He knew that if he didn't eventually, he wouldn't hear the end of it. So, before the Korean knew it, he was standing in front of his 'mother's' home, immediately regretting raising his hand to knock on the door.

Barely making a noise, the door was flung open, causing Ji-hu to almost have a heart attack. "YOU CALL THAT A KNOCK?!"

Ji-hu rubbed his eyes and stared down at the sixteen-year-old Australian girl, folding his arms. "Uh, excuse me. You didn't give me the chance to actually knock on the door."

Adeline, the Australian Micronation- unbeknownst to Ji-hu, stared at him a moment, then broke out laughing. "I'm totally kidding with you!"

… What.

She gestured for him to come inside. "Come on, come on in! Don't just stand out there!" Adeline quickly stepped out of the way to make room for Ji-hu.

Ji-hu immediately felt suspicion, slowly stepping inside. "Why are you..." He slowly enunciated.

"Hey, Adds! I'm gonna head home!"

Now it made sense. She had company. A glance to the side revealed not just any company, but a girl. Normally, this would've surprised him. Adeline had a lot of guy friends, much to her distaste, and they were always bothering her. But when he saw her, this girl, his mind froze.

Goldilocks. Cinderella. Sleeping Beauty. No, Rapunzel. It had to be Rapunzel. This beautiful, astounding porcelain doll of a woman with long, slightly curly blonde hair gracefully rising from a seat at Adeline's kitchen table. Her blue eyes were framed by black, thick-rimmed glasses. However, amongst all this, he was most distracted by her smile. Sure, Ji-hu had seen quite a few women in his time- this was Los Angeles, but he'd certainly never seen this one before. Why did it matter? He wasn't sure. What was a girl like this doing in his 'mom's' house? A small one, at that. And eating her cooking? It was disastrous, Ji-hu always told Adeline it would be the death of him. Surely this was a mistake, right? Who was she, even? At this point, he was just a Korean man in a sweater.

Ji-hu heard the door close, and quickly spun around. Damn, he missed her. "Uhh, Mother Dearest, who was that?"

Adeline blinked. "'Mother Dearest'? When do you ever call me that?" She shook her head. "No matter. That was just a new friend of mine. She heard I was an artist and asked me if I could do the art for her book cover, and then we got talking, and she ended up being here a good two hours. Nice girl."

"You didn't actually feed her, right?"

Adeline chuckled, washing a dish in the sink. "Of course I did, you silly boy. I don't starve my guests."

"You might as well be if they're eating your cooking. And excuse me. I'm a man. Not a boy." Ji-hu's statement made Adeline looked over her shoulder to receive a 'z-snap'.

"I told you; I'll call you that when you earn it, Prince of the Lab."

"Um, it's King of the Lab. And I did earn it! Plus, I've been acting like a man since the day I was born!"

"I remember when you were born! You lost it!"

"I'M OLDER THAN YOU, /WHAT/-"

"Don't sass your mother!"

"Too late! What're ya gonna do about it-"

"You're gonna sit down, and I'm gonna feed you."

"Um, I don't feel like dying, thanks." Ji-hu gave a fake grin.

Adeline raised an eyebrow. "You wanna doubt that girl you just saw? She thought it was just fine. Come on."

Ji-hu was quiet a moment, then quickly sat at the table. "Don't know why I should, I don't even know her."

"Her name is Ameline. I just call her Ammy."

"Ammy..." Ji-hu repeated.

Adeline flashed him a strange look. "... Okay, dinner will be ready in five minutes, so find a way to entertain yourself."

"Do I look five to you?"

"No, but you certainly act like it!"

"Excuse me! Who do you think you are?!"

"A mother who questions the masculinity of her pride and joy." Adeline took a deep breath. "Alright. Now for why I actually called you..."

"So I don't have to eat your atrocious food?" Ji-hu asked with hope.

"No, you still do." She sat down across from him, watching him hit his forehead on the table, causing her to laugh. "Relax. I had help this time, it won't kill you.

"We'll see about that in the morning when I get food poisoning." Came Ji-hu's muffled reply.

-—-

Despite Ji-hu's belief, he did not receive food poisoning. Well, at the very least he was healthy enough to go grocery shopping.

Seeing as he lived in an apartment, he didn't really see the need to over-stuff his fridge. Well, that's what you would think, when the reality was he still needed enough room to store more kimchi than he probably should. Surprisingly, the store wasn't that busy on a Saturday. Which was a good thing, because no one really enjoys a busy day at a grocery store.

So there Ji-hu stood in a seemingly empty aisle, contemplating whatever canned goods he should put in the cart. Suddenly a disruption of a person approaching him jerked him away from his thoughts.

His attention was brought to a familiar stunning figure- one with blonde hair, and blue eyes. It was the exact same girl he'd seen at Adeline's house last night- Ameline, was it?

Once Ameline noticed him and recognized him from seeing him at Adeline's as well, she made a sly smile and directed finger guns straight in his direction once she was close enough. "Heeey~"

"Are you talking to me? You can't possibly be talking to me." Ji-hu leaned against one of the shelves with his elbow. He raised his eyebrows and grinned. "Aye girl." He said, trying to look cool– Almost like a thug. Except; nothing like it.

Ameline rolled her eyes. "My apologies, but I thought I /was/ talking to you- Well, I am now, aren't I? It seems my words are just," Her voice lowered a little. "Attracted to you."

"Isn't everything just attracted to me? I mean, look at me. I'm the epitome of Korean Thunder."

"Do you happen to bring any lightning with that package?" Ameline winked.

"Uh, yeah, it's called..." Ji-hu grinned, pointing to himself. "Me."

"It's a good thing I love thunderstorms." She let out a small chuckle. "Name's Ameline. You're the guy I saw at Adds' last night, right?"

"Well here's one right in your area." Ji-hu winked. "Yeah, that was me. I'm Ji-hu. But y'know, you can also refer to me as King of the Lab."

Ameline raised her eyebrows. "King of the Lab, huh? Sounds exciting."

"It is, and being King of the Lab, is tiring work. But you know, having a queen would make it /so/ much more less stressful." He wiggled his eyebrows.

Ameline folded her arms and rested them on the edge of Ji-hu's cart. "Let me know if I can ever help you with that."

"Oh, you could definitely help me with that. Oh, yes." He nodded.

"Really?" Ameline asked, her voice indicating she was slightly intrigued. "Well, I would love to." She folded her hands and rested her chin, grinning and rolling her eyes.

It took a brief moment for that statement to register in Ji-hu's mind. "Wait, really-?" He slowly stood back up straight.

Ameline nodded ever-so-slightly, grinning. "Really."

Ji-hu scratched his head. "Oh, cool. People usually reject it by now."

Ameline rolled her eyes with that smile of hers, which almost captivated Ji-hu, and fished in her pocket to pull something out- a business card sort of thing. There was actually a small stack. She held it out to Ji-hu, the card in between two of her fingers. She grinned a little wider. Just a little.

"Just drop by whenever you wanna take that offer up, 'King of the Lab'."

Once Ji-hu took it from her, she slipped away with her shopping cart. "Uh, yeah. I'll take you up on that." He stood there awkwardly, swooning inside like a little girl.


	2. Chp 2- You Don't Know You're Beautiful

Hours after meeting Ameline in the morning, Ji-hu had actually driven to her house, after picking up a bouquet of flowers, and stood outside her door in a suit. Smart idea. He shuffled nervously, then knocked.  
Meanwhile, Ameline was inside, dancing on top of her kitchen table, singing 'Here's To Never Growing Up' by Avril LaVigne as loud as possible- it practically described her in a way. She never cared about how loud she was, or how much she couldn't hear. Her cat jumped on the table, causing her to scream and unplug her headphones. Because of Arthur, the cat, Ameline noticed that /someone/ was on her porch.  
"Oh, someone's at the door..."  
Ji-hu stood there, waiting, staring at his watch and adjusting his tie. Smart move wearing a suit, Ji-hu. It was amazing he didn't hear Ameline's singing, but it was probably a good thing. Suddenly, the door flung open.  
"/CAN'T YOU SEE I'M A BUSY WOM/-" Ameline, please. She only wished she was busy. It took her only but a moment to recognize who was at her door, cutting herself off. "Oh, hey King of the Lab." She grinned.  
Ji-hu backed up a little, grinning and scratching the back of his head. "Hey, future Queen of the Lab."  
A butterfly lightly fluttered its' wings in Ameline's stomach. "Well, thanks for dropping by. I suppose I can fit you in my schedule." She spun herself out of the way of the door. "You may pass!"  
"Of course you can schedule me in, I am pretty handsome, who could resist?" He wiggled his eyebrows and entered, clearing his throat and placing the flowers on a table. "Uh, nice place you got here."  
"Uh huh, because signs of attraction have /so/ much to do with it." She rolled her eyes, keeping back a laugh and closing the door. "And thanks! It actually used to be my grandparent's vacation home, but they moved to Florida for retirement and let me move into the place, so now I own it and cleared all the old people stuff out." She laughed.  
"Of course it does- you're obviously attracted to my Korean Thunder. It's nothing to be ashamed of." Ji-hu grinned. "You actually house, dude, I live in an apartment. /Full of old women/. All they do is pinch my cheeks when I pass by!"  
"You can't prove that." Ameline stuck her tongue out, but she wasn't necessarily proving her case. "Geah- my grandma used to do that. My grandparents still partially pay for the place. I'm just an author, I can't really afford it entirely quite yet." She rubbed the back of her head. "Can't get an apartment though, it'd be too small to handle me." She walked to her kitchen table, Ji-hu following behind.  
"Obviously you're showing signs of attraction right now. Don't lie to me, I know you want a piece of the Korean." He winked. "And hey, apartments can be big, if you know what I mean." He once again wiggled his eyebrows- a trademark in a way. However, he himself didn't even know what he meant.  
Ameline rolled her eyes. She couldn't hide the butterflies for long. "Whatever you say, 'Korean Thunder'." She sat on the table, resting her chin on her hands.  
Ji-hu grinned, then paused. "Wait, hold up." He ran back to the table nearest to the door, grabbed the flowers, and ran back up to her, holding the bouquet out to her. "Here, for you."  
Ameline grinned widely, taking them. "Oh, th-thank you!" She smelled them, sighing lightly. "I'll totally put these in my room later. Augh, that was so nice of you!"  
Ji-hu grinned. "Hey, no problem. Pretty flowers for pretty girls." He laughed a bit, scratching the back of his head.  
Ameline blushed a little, feeling another butterfly flying around in her stomach. "You're too sweet." She smiled a little softer, glancing to the side.  
"Well, I'm glad you like them." Ji-hu said as he sat down on the chair in front of Ameline. "Or, y'know, I'd have to take the awkward walk of shame home." He smiled. 'What a cutie', he couldn't help but think.  
"Nah, you wouldn't have to do that. It's not like I would kick you out or anything-" She was interrupted by her cat jumping up on the table, putting loudly. "Arthur, shut up." She frowned.  
"Yeah, but it's pride, y'know? It kinda feels like a shot down if you didn't like the flowers." He pat his hand on the table, trying to get Arthur's attention. "It's name is Arthur?"  
Hearing, or even having the thought of Ji-hu's pride being hurt, made Ameline's heart sink a little. Ouch. "Oh..." She said quietly.  
Arthur, being the stuck up cat he is, jumped off the table and sat down on the floor, licking his paw, and flicking his tail at Ameline. Ji-hu picked him up off the ground and let him lay on his lab, gently petting him. Ji-hu was more of a cat person to begin with.  
Ameline cleared her throat. "But yeah, I named him after this guy I used to know 'cause he nags me all the time and doesn't leave me alone. Both of them. I visited /Arthur/ Arthur yesterday and he got mad because I danced on his table. So I jumped out his second story window and accidentally ruined his flower bed." She stood up and spun around on the table, grinning with a somewhat determined look. "See, I'm not fat, I won't break it!" She rested her fists on her hips, a pose with obvious pride and confidence.  
Ji-hu lightly scratched behind the cat's ears. "Well, I wouldn't mind if you got on my table and danced on top of it." He grinned like a five-year-old. "And you're not at all fat, I don't see why anyone would call you that."  
"Bahh, of course you wouldn't." Ameline swiftly turned around, flashing her back to him, her face lightly dusted pink. "You'd enjoy the view too much." She cleared her throat. "And I dunno, maybe Arthur does it to bother me, and I guess other people just assume... But thanks." She shrugged, glancing at the floor.  
"I already am enjoying the view, as it is." He kept grinning, petting the cat. "Mmm, I don't see it."  
Ameline blushed wildly, putting a hand on her stomach, and another on her heart. As her stomach fluttered like crazy, her heartbeat quickened. She took a deep breath, waiting for her face to lose its' heat. She then turned back around and sat down cross-legged. "Th-thanks, I guess." She scratched the back of her head. Even though her cheeks didn't feel as warm, there was still an obvious shade of red. "Well, I don't get many visitors to begin with, so I guess people just don't pay much attention in public." Ameline rested her elbows on her knees, trying to make it look like that's all she was doing- resting her head, not hiding her face.  
Ji-hu rested an elbow on the table. 'Seduction; 'tis the Korean way', he thought. "Hey, no problem." He winked, taking note when Ameline quickly covered the sides of her face, her shoulders slightly falling. Inside, he grinned crazily, like a small child. "Why not? I'm a little surprised. You're funny, pretty, and obviously a party person. I's think people would just flock to you." She almost wanted to tear out her stomach, the butterflies had gotten worse and worse to the point she had to try her hardest to hold a small noise in the back of her throat. She grabbed her stomach. Good lord, she wished he would stop. At the same time, she really didn't, but she didn't understand why this was happening; her heart pounding, her stomach having the most wild fluttering to the point butterflies could not describe it. "Aah, shut up you." She gave a small smile. "I just don't have too many friends, and I don't count Arthur- as in the person." Arthur, the cat, meowed loudly. She pointed at him. "You don't count either!"  
Ji-hu lightly flipped his hair, because it was 'getting in the way'. He leaned his head on his hand with an oh-so-fainty-sly smile. "But you are all those things, you know. Even if you only have a few amount of friends."  
Ameline's insides melted. The butterflies were gone, she could hardly feel he heart beating or breathe. 'He's so doing that on purpose'. The corner of her mouth twitched as she cleared her throat. Summoning up her courage, she grinned and rolled her eyes. "You're so full of baloney." He isn't winning the game, nope.  
Ji-hu raised his arms, never without a smile. "I'm not, I promise you!"  
Ameline's smile faded a little. "Ugh, you're... You're too nice. Just- Thank you. And, thanks for coming over. I mean, I didn't think you'd /actually/ do it." She frowned a moment, which quickly disappeared as well. "Not that you're intruding at all! You're /always/ welcome."  
"Hey, don't worry about it." Ji-hu continued to pet Arthur's head. "I keep my promises, and hey, I'm actually really glad I came over. Hanging out with you, is fun." Charisma Status; Activated.  
'Son of a fish', Ameline whined internally. 'Play it cool'. "Well, you're not too bad yourself, King of the Lab." She grinned, rolling her eyes.  
Ji-hu screeched internally; Ameline was actually calling him 'King of the Lab'. "Well, thank you, Queen of the Lab." He grinned.  
For some reason, something pushed Ameline, something overcame her and brought her to act on something that somehow, hadn't even crossed her mind. It was too busy buzzing over everything Ji-hu had said. And perhaps she did it because of all the butterflies, racing heart, and clouded thoughts being built up, and was no longer able to contain it.  
Seeing as she was already sitting on the table, she leaned towards him a little and gently grabbed the sides of his head, lightly kissing his forehead. "You're welcome." She instantly sat back up straight.  
At this, Ji-hu was definitely screaming inside, externally hyperventilating. He was so awe-struck, he could literally say nothing. "I- Okay."  
Ameline couldn't say anything either. Like, what did she just do? Even she didn't know. So many words clogged the back of her throat, and at the same time, she couldn't speak a single one of them. She rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. "Whoops." She said under her breath, her face a shade of scarlet.  
Ji-hu sat there, still not able to say or do anything. What just happened, how would he respond to that? He just stayed in his seat, just staring at her- they were /both/ staring at each other. He had no idea what to do, and was trying to comprehend what he /should/ do, still screaming inside. Even he was blushing, a sight to rarely see. Meanwhile, Arthur stretched on Ji-hu's lap.  
Ameline thought as hard as she possibly could. 'Think, Ammy, think! There's gotta be- but how do you just-'. Her thought process was interrupted by Arthur jumping off Ji-hu's lap and landing his paws loudly on the floor, prancing away. 'God dammit, Arthur-!'  
Ji-hu watched as the cat ran off. 'Coward, I needed you!' He mentally shook his fist. He cleared his throat. "So, uh..." His attempt at speaking was only to find he still couldn't. Ameline didn't know what to say either, but this awkwardness and on-and-off silence was killing her.  
Arthur flicked his tail at Ji-hu as if to say, 'Screw you, you're on your own'.  
Finally, Ameline got the courage to say something- granted, anxiously. "I- I'm so sorry! You can leave if you want!" She groaned and laid back, then quite literally rolled off the table, landing on the carpet- lucky to avoid hitting any chairs.  
Ji-hu was in a slight panic as well. "No, it's not that! It's just- god, I don't know how to say it." He cleared his throat. "Ehem, uh... Crap." He still couldn't, so he just sat in the chair, like a butt.  
"This is why I don't have friends, I always end up ruining things or making things weird." Came her muffled reply, her face in the carpet as she groaned.  
Ji-hu quickly got down and kneeled beside her. "No, I'm just-! You're a pretty girl, and you're cute, and you're funny, and you're friendly, and a bunch of other things! And I'm just an idiot!" He said, a tad loudly- as he was in a slight panic. 'Oops... Did I really just say all of that out loud?'  
Ameline has silent a moment, blinking a few times, and she felt as if she had a heart attack. She sat up. "Yeah, well-! You're a handsome guy who's funny, friendly, charming, and dorky in a cute kind of way! And I'm really just a chick!" Ameline, this isn't an argument.  
"Nonono, you listen here you cutie patootie! You're a beautiful, wonderful, perfect, you don't know you're beautiful girl!" Ji-hu, you didn't.  
"Excuse you, I am not a cutie patootie! You make too much of me, okay, I'm just a clueless author who has too much energy for my own good and am extremely attracted to dorks, so hush you're perfect!" As Ameline was getting all these thoughts off of her chest, her heart beat faster again, but her butterflies vanished.  
"Excuse me, but I'm pretty sure I'm at the house of a girl that's insecure, don't know what for, You're turning heads when you walk through the door! Don't need make-up to cover up, being the way that you are is enouuugh! Everyone else in the room can see it, everyone else but you! Baby you light up my world like nobody else-!" Just as Ameline was singing at the top of her lungs earlier, it was Ji-hu's turn to do the same. Except in a more high-pitched and cracked voice.  
Ameline literally didn't even know /what/ to do or say. He didn't just. She died inside, then blurted; "I just like you, okay!"  
Ji-hu mentally screamed. "Well, I like you too, okay-?!"  
"Well, good! Then that makes kissing you a lot less awkward!" She yelled nervously.  
"Uh, yeah, I guess it does! Though technically it was just a kiss on the forehead- But whatever, am I right?!" The two of them were interrupted by the cat trotting in and hissing loudly, as to say; 'Quit screaming, I am trying to /n a p/!' Ji-hu immediately turned around and pointed at him. "Don't you dare sass me!"  
Ameline slumped a little. "JesusChristArthurokAY!" She shot the cat a look that also read 'Go take a nap you lazy shit'.  
"Hold up." Ji-hu rolled up his sleeves and got down on his hands and knees to get on Arthur's level, aggressively whispering. "You listen here, you little shit, I'm trying to have an honest to god moment right now-"  
Arthur bat Ji-hu's nose, just bat it, his claws barely out. He then turned around to wave his behind in Ji-hu's face, flicking his tail, then pranced off to go curl up somewhere.  
Ji-hu stayed frozen as he was for a moment, smiling widely, silent for a moment of two. "Do you wanna die, cat." He whispered quietly. Arthur simply began licking himself, signaling 'Carry on'.  
Meanwhile, Ameline sits there and watches, somewhat amused by this interaction.  
Ji-hu waved his fist at Arthur, getting pretty close to punching it. "I let you lay on my lap, you little shit!" He then turned to Ameline. "Oh, hey-"  
Ameline gently grabbed his shoulders. "So, you like me, and I like you-"  
Ji-hu paused, suddenly being confronted, not entirely sure what to do. He just sat there a moment, still on his knees. "Uh- yeah."  
Ameline inched a little closer. "So, does that officially make me 'Queen of the Lab'?" She whispered, smiling a little.  
"Well, will you be my Queen of the Lab?" Ji-hu shrugged, a little hopeful.  
Ameline smiled wide. "Yeah, of course!" She wrapped her arms around him to hug him.  
Ji-hu hugged her back, grinning. "Thank god."  
Ameline let out a nervous 'Heh'. "Well, you're a really awesome guy and all, with you and your Korean Thunder."  
Ji-hu loosened his arms and slipped out of the hug a little. "Well, I thought you didn't like me- /Even though I have the Korean Thunder/! You're pretty awesome yourself, y'know."  
'Charismatic Butt', Ameline thought. In a good way, of course. She rolled her eyes and grinned. "Mhm, /irresistible/ Korean Thunder." Being the playful person she is, and with the hold on Ji-hu's shoulders, she lightly pushed him down, pinning him to the floor. "I try." She grinned, sticking her tongue out.  
Ji-hu, realizing he /was/ being pinned to the floor, blushed like crazy. "What." All he can say. Good job, Ji-hu.  
Ameline laughed. "You're so easy to just- anything."  
"Well, you're pinning me to the ground, which I don't know how to deal with- /what/ am I supposed to do?!" His nervousness crystal clear.  
Ameline rolled her eyes. "I'm just playing, silly! You don't need to do anything." She sat back up, staring at the ceiling in thought.  
Ji-hu shot up, dusting himself off, taking a deep breath. Once he glanced at Ameline, he blinked. "Everything okay?"  
Ameline's attention snapped back into reality. "Oh, yeah, of course!" She stood up. "Hey, um, Ji-hu?"  
"Yeah?"  
"I was wondering..." She fiddled with her thumbs. "If maybe you'd like to just... Stay for dinner?" She looked up hopefully.  
Ji-hu grinned. "Yeah. I'd love to."


	3. Chapter 3- The One You'll Always Have

Ameline wasn't one to cook very often.  
The microwave was her best friend, you could say, as was the pantry, and anything else that didn't involve an oven. But nonetheless, she still had one, despite how much she didn't use it. Ameline didn't use it for the particular reason she just wasn't good with those kind of things in general. Microwaves were much easier. However, one day, she decided that she would make spaghetti and /attempt/ making roast. Of course, the oven had burners.

Ameline had once tried to bake cookies around Christmas the previous year, which some of the dough slid of the pan and caused a little bit of smoke. So Ameline immediately turned it off, took out the tray, and waited for the oven to cool, and hadn't used it since.

Well, this particular day, while Ameline was using the burners to boil water, she turned the oven on to preheat it.  
Two things were wrong here.

There was a plastic lid rested half on the counter, half on top of the oven, where the misfortune could occur the flames of the burner could set it on fire.  
And the charcoal-turned cookie dough was still setting in this oven, where the preheating caused it to burn, to the point of flame.

Ameline never considered herself to be 'lucky'.

Stepping outside of the kitchen for a moment, headphones blasting as they usually are into her ears, she ran into the basement to take clothes out of the dryer- you can tell, by now, Ameline lived simply and ordinarily. Or, tried to. When the sun went down, she'd go to whatever party was happening.  
Arthur was obviously the man of the house. And no, not the Englishman. The sassy, demanding, walks-around-like-he-owns-the-place /cat/. This gray demon-cat had no one fooled; he had the personality of a true human being. Arthur was smart. Arthur could see flames and hear a smoke detector go off. He bolted down the stares and started hissing, and even jumped on top of the dryer and clawed Ameline- not something he would do. Usually.  
Ameline ripped out her headphones to yell at him, when she finally heard a shrill beeping, and smelled smoke. She herself bolted up the stairs to see an entire section of the kitchen in flames. She dropped everything- the clothes, and even her MP3 player. Of course as human reflexes would have it, she ran to the sink and grabbed a cup, trying to douse it. Forgetting to turn off the burner, the flames only spread. Tears starting to well from fear, she grabbed Arthur and tossed him carefully into another room, where he would land on his feet and not even budge.  
Ameline needed to get her priorities straight. She grabbed her MP3 player, and quickly ran up the stairs to grab her laptop, bolting outside, Arthur hopping behind. By the time the fire trucks came around, two rooms had been set fire to. The firemen themselves found it a bit extreme and unusual. As the flames were finally doused, the side bushes rustled.  
Someone had been hiding there.

Ji-hu had a safe apartment, he made sure of it. With the excitements he'd done in the kitchen before, it was fireproof. Unless, someone actually lit a match to it. Living in an apartment wasn't too complicated, or too big- he had the basics. A television, couch, kitchen area, and two bedrooms. Granted; they were small. It wasn't house-size material, but just enough. And, indeed, it was surrounded with other apartments that were owned or rented by 'senior citizens', the women whom he had told Ameline about.

Ah, Ameline.

Adeline and Ji-hu's sister constantly prodded him to just ask her out already, but something also told him not to. It had only been two weeks since Adeline introduced her into his life, while he was introduced into her life through the grocery store. Yet, he frequently, more so consistently, thought of this beautiful, amazing girl. They talked enough, for sure. But on a particular day, as it was getting dark, he least expected her to be at the door of his apartment.  
Hearing the knock at his door, he paused the Korean Drama he'd been watching on TV- and after a millisecond of consideration, turned off the television all together.  
His pride; protected.  
What he saw as he opened the door surprised him- Ameline, appearing to be slightly shaken, but still smiling.  
"Oh, Ammy..." Ji-hu leaned in his doorway and blew some hair out of his face, grinning. "What's up?"  
Ammy laughed, slightly nervous. "Hey, uhh- I didn't really know who else to ask, but. Well." She paused. "Your 'lab' wouldn't happen to have a... Resting area or bed, would it? Come to think of it, you never told me what work you do." She frowned.  
Ji-hu rubbed the back of his head. "It'd probably gross you out. And, yeah, /a dissection table/." He squinted a little. "What's wrong?"  
Ameline's knees buckled, as she whimpered; "I set my house on fire."  
Ji-hu blinked, standing there a moment, wheels and cogs turning in his head. Until finally; "You set your /house on fire/-? How did you- What on earth- w h y?" He frowned with worry.  
"It was an accident!" She burst. "I-The oven was completely- and I went downstairs, then came back up, and- it spread and somehow I..." She looked down. "I wasn't any use, and by the time the fire department got there, my front room and kitchen are practically gone. I spent yesterday night in a tent on Addy-kinz' lawn."  
Ji-hu's second thought was 'Addy-kinz-', the first one obviously concern. "What-? You actually slept on a lawn-" He stood up straight. "Uh, y'know, this is a two bedroom apartment. If I just moved some stuff out of the spare room, you could... Uh... Stay here if you needed." He gave a light shrug, giving a smile to try and lighten up her down mood.  
Ameline just stood there silently a few seconds, blinking. "I... I don't want to trouble you that much. Besides, Arthur-"  
Ji-hu held up a hand. "Shh, I know." Behind his smile, he he thought to himself. 'I'll kill that little demon, and simply tell her he ran away-'. "It's no trouble, really."  
Ameline shook her head. "No, it's... I mean, if I took you up on that, I guess Adeline could always watch Arthur. But- I just can't sleep without him." She raised her shoulders a little. "I can't really fall asleep without him there to cuddle or anything. I know I'm grown up, but it feels a little cold when I'm alone still."  
"I think cuddling can be arranged." Ji-hu wiggled his eyebrows.  
This made Ameline laugh a little, giving a small grin and raising her eyebrows. "Promise?" She rolled her eyes.  
"Promise." He winked, grinning. "C'mon in and relax, I'll go pick up your stuff from 'mother dearest' later."  
Ameline shyly slipped her way inside, rubbing her arms. "Thanks so much Ji, really." She gave a small smile.  
"Hey," He grinned. "It's no problem."

-  
After going through dinner and light conversation with Ameline, Ji-hu really did mean 'later' about picking up her things. By the time he'd gotten back to the apartment, carrying in the small suitcase and laptop case- containing the laptop of course, he didn't see Ameline when he walked in. Setting her suitcase by the closet and figuring it might be more helpful to her if he set the laptop on a desk, he quietly walked to the spare bedroom and opened the door carefully to check if she was sleeping.  
Ameline wasn't asleep, in fact, and sat up when she heard the door open- barely. She rubbed here eyes, which had a tear or two in them, and turned around to face him.  
"Oh, you're back- I hope you don't mind that I..." She shrugged, rubbing her arm.  
Ji-hu shook his head. "Not at all." He frowned a little. "Is there something wrong?"  
Ameline blinked a couple times. "Why do you ask?"  
Ji-hu walked to the bed and sat on the edge. "You just seem kinda down- y'know, aside from seeming a little tired." He turned a little to face her better.  
"It's nothing, just... I'm a little disappointed in myself, is all. Like, what if I accidentally- y'know, your kitchen! And... I just don't get how it got so out of hand." She sighed. "Plus, I... I can't explain it, I really just can't believe it. I'm such a klutz, y'know? And I get kinda lonely when it's dark at night and things are a little too quiet."  
Ji-hu pat her head. "Hey, don't worry about my kitchen. I do experiments in it all the time- it's completely fireproof. And y'know, you said it was an accident. Don't be too hard on yourself, okay?" He grinned. "And if you're ever lonely, you have me."  
This made Ameline die a little inside. "Really?" She sniffed.  
"Really." He paused for a moment, a bit of a sly look slipping across his face. "You look cold- wanna use me as a blanket?"  
Ameline melted inside, grinning a little as she rolled her eyes. "If you think you'd be warm enough." She laughed a little, laying back down.  
"Well, I wouldn't want you to freeze. Besides, I /did/ make a promise." He wiggled his eyebrows.  
"You did, didn't you?" She rolled on her side. "Heaven for bid I should prevent you from keeping your word."  
Ji-hu scooted onto the bed and laid next to her, staring up at the ceiling. "I just don't want you to feel like you're alone here, anyway. Like I said, you've always got me."  
Ameline tensed a little bit, feeling a butterfly or to flutter up to her ribcage. She turned around quickly and wrapped her arms around him, shutting her eyes tight. "Thank you... I appreciate that."  
Ji-hu screamed inside, hugging her with one arm, lightly squeezing. "Of course." He pet the side of her head. "I'll just stay here until you're asleep."  
Ameline nodded, closing her eyes. Ji-hu would spend a little over fifteen minutes lightly rubbing her back, trying to keep her relaxed until she was finally asleep.


End file.
